Roofing material has an upper surface intended to be exposed to weather and a lower surface facing in the direction opposite to the upper surface. Traditionally, the lower surface or back of roofing material such as shingles has been coated with asphalt material and covered with finely ground mineral material (fines) so that the asphalt backing does not adhere to contiguous roofing material when packaged for transport and storage. Such finely divided materials include mica flakes, copper slag, coal slag, sand, talc and silica dust. With increasing costs of petroleum based products, it is desirable to reduce the amount of weight of roofing materials (thereby decreasing transportation expenses) and to reduce the asphalt component raw material cost.